The curly-coated retriever is the best dog for the wild-fowl shooter, but good train ing is necessary to fit the dog for his use. The punter ought not to carry a dog with him, because the dog, having no opportunity of exercise after his return from the water, soon suffers from the cold of the winter weather in which the sport is pursued.
Sledging for wild-fowl is practiced by professional wild-fowl shooters on some parts of the English coast, particularly that of Hampshire. The sledges traverses the oozes by means of a small light sledge called a launching punt, with a gun in the fore-part. Hs pushes it ahead, crawling on his knees, and often at full length on the mud, till he gets within range. His most severe work is on sands and dry ground.
The is a small generally flat-bottomed boat, about 17 ft. in length, with a gun placed iu the front of it, generally carrying about half a pound of shot at a charge. The punt must be nicely trimmed, so that the gun is nearly on a level with the surface of the water; and the fowler, having approached the birds where they are con gregated, often kills great numbers by its discharge. The sport is pursued both by day stud by night. The punt is geuerally constructed to carry only one person, and although he rows it in the ordinary manner till he discovers the birds, he is obliged then to lie down iu the punt, and force it forward by a pole or by the oars with no little exertion, till he gets within range. The danger is not inconsiderable of his mistaking another punt in the darkness of night for an assemblage of wild-fowl, and firing at his fellow-sportsman. In a clear moonlight night, he proceeds if possible, against the light, so that he may see, and not be seen., By a successful shot, great numbers of water-fowl are often killed. The punt-gun is capable of being tipped, that is, elevated so as to shoot wate•-fowl on the wing, and the most successful shots arc often made by waiting till they rise, and tipping the gun. The punter cannot expect to recover all his wounded birds, and there arc men on some parts of the coast who make their living during winter mostly by seeking for them in the morning.—The is a mere modification of the ordinary gunning-punt; the sail saving much hard work to the fowler, but its use is attended with great danger, and it is utterly unsuitable for ougli water. A shootiv boat is therefore sometimes used; but in it the gun cannot be fixed level with the sur face of the water, as in the punt, and still more is this the case with the The practice of the sportsman is therefore considerably different, and the best shots are geuerally made after the birds are on the wing. The helmsman of the shooting-yacht must be quick and skillful in luffing up, in such a manner as to cross the flight of the birds, that they may be well exposed to the gun, which is generally larger than the punt gun. Great numbers of wild-geese, swans, etc., are often killed from the shooting yacht. In approaching the birds, the greatest caution is necessary, and the men in the yacht most be carefully concealed behind the bulwarks.
Notwithstanding the draining of fen-lands, many of the decoys of the eastern coast of England are still very valuable, and in some instances they afford a considerable part of the living of the parochial clergy. A good decoy-pond attached to a rectory adds not a little to its value. It is in severe winters that the decoy-pond is most productive. It must he in a secluded situation, and the proprietor takes care to keep it as secluded as possible, permitting no use of the gun or rifle in its neighborhood. Au extent of three or four acres is about the best for a decoy-pond. Very large ones are found to be com paratively much less productive. The ought to be surrounded with trees
and copse, reeds and sedges being permitted to flourish near the water. Several pipes arc led off from the pond, iu different directions, ditches of 0 or 8 in. in depth, of a curved form, and becoming narrower toward the extremity. It is in these pipes that the wild-fowl are caught, particularly mallards, teal, and widgeons, and often in very great numbers. The length of the pipe is generally from 60 to 80 yds., its breadth at the mouth from 20 to 30 ft., diminishing to 2 ft at the extremity, where it terminates in a generally carried out on the dry land. The whole pipe is spanned with a light netting, spread upon semicircular bars of iron rod, in an arch of about 12 ft. above the water at the entrance, but becoming lower as the pipe becomes more narrow. To attract wild-fowl to the pond, and to induce them to enter the pipe, are kept, constant inhabitants of the pond, and regularly fed. Wild-fowl come more readily to the pond because of their presence, anti follow them also to the mouth of the pipe, and into it, when they come at the well known whistle of the decoy-man, to feed on the grain which he scatters for them on the water. It is only this that the decoy-ducks are of use. They are not trained in any way, nor do they display any intelligence beyond response to the whistle which invites them to their food. Very different is the case with the decoyer's dog, the piper, so called not any vocal powers. but from his use in enticing birds into the pipe. The dogs. best adapted for this purpose are of a peculiar breed, small, fox-like, and very lively and frolicsome. They arc very carefully trained, and their peculiar qualities seem to be in some measure hereditary. On the convex side of the curve of the pipe, for about 30 or 40 yds., instead of netting coming down to the ground, screens made of reeds are placed of height sufficient to conceal the decoyer; but they are placed obliquely, with narrow outlets between them, through which his clog may pass• and with bars in the intervals about 18 in. high, for the dog to leap over. When the wild-fowl have been attracted to the mouth of the decoy, and the deceiver, peeping through the screens, perceives that they are in the proper situation, he sends out the dog, which makes sportive gambols in their sight, and they are attracted by the straiwe object, as sheep are when a small dog plays about in the field where they graze. They enter the pipe in pursuit, as if for gratification of their curiosity, and the clog leaps over the first and disap pears bellied the screens, where his master immediately rewards him With a piece of cheese or other delicacy. When the wild-fowl have advanced a little further, the dog is sent out again, repeats his gambols, leaps over the second leaping-bar. and gets it second piece of cheese. The curiosity of the birds seems to increase, and when they have pro ceeded far enough the loan shows himself, whereupon a rush is made by the birds toward the far end, where they arc captured. The dog is trained to keep perfect silence. A single. hark would disperse the birds. The success of the decoyer depends very much on the state of the weather, and he must consider the direction of the wind in order to the choice of the pipe he is to use. Into such details, however, we cannot enter. It is in the daytime, and not by night, that wild-fowl are captured in the decoy. They gen. erally leave the decoy-pond at night for neighboring feeding-grounds. The decoyer often finds it profitable not to attempt the capture of birds when they first appear on the .pond, but to wait for a few days, when they congregate in greater numbers.